The archaeological site would have been occupied between the year 600 and 900 AD.
It is a surprisingly well-preserved millennial archaeological site that was discovered in Mexico on the site of a new industrial park near Mérida in the Yucatán Peninsula.
Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of an old Mayan city on the construction site, which the Puuc architectural style allows us to date: the city with its pyramids, palaces and squares was probably inhabited between 600 and 900 AD, shows typical elements of the Late Classic and Late Classic.
“We believe that in the area lived more than 4,000 people,” estimates Carlos Peraza, one of the archaeologists who has been directing the city’s excavations since 2018, pointing out that people from different social classes (priests, scribes, people of the people… ) should live in these palaces and the small adjoining buildings.
A legacy preserved
At the site called Xiol, where research continues today, researchers have found various tools, pots and vases from the period and also identified various offerings that accompanied the remains of the deceased in what appeared to be a graveyard.
Remains of marine life discovered on the site suggest that the residents’ diet was based on the fishing that took place along the coast.
The construction of the industrial park continues, but the archaeological remains are to be preserved, thanks in particular to the financial support of the State of Yucatán. “Over time urban sprawl [dans la région] has increased and many archaeological remains have been destroyed … But even we archaeologists are surprised because we did not expect …
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